Devoe Joseph says he's headed to Oregon

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January 9, 2011 - 11:18 PM

Former Gophers shooting guard Devoe Joseph confirmed Sunday night that he will transfer to the University of Oregon. "Yes," Joseph replied via text message when asked if he planned to transfer to the school. Joseph told the Star Tribune that he was unavailable for a phone interview Sunday night.

But his AAU coach and mentor, Ro Russell, said Joseph chose the school in part because of its high-paced offense. Dana Altman, the former Creighton coach, is in his first year at the school. The Ducks are currently 7-9 and 0-4 in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Russell said UNC-Charlotte, West Virginia and Baylor all expressed interest in Joseph, who left the Gophers last week.

“He told me that he respects Coach Smith a lot and thinks he’s a great coach,” Russell said. “He’ll miss his teammates. He felt that he needed to make a change.”

Russell said Oregon’s quarter system will allow Joseph to play next December. Division I transfers are required to sit out for two semesters or three quarters at their new schools. Joseph also wanted to go out with a bang in his senior season, Russell said. He averaged 11.3 points per game with the Gophers this season, after being suspended for the team’s first six games due to a violation of team rules.

He's expected to begin classes at Oregon this week, Russell said.

"His main thing was senior year, he wanted to make a major impact," he said